The Punjab Police arrested five persons on Thursday in connection with the low-intensity blast incidents near the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
The accused have been identified as Azadvir Singh, Amrik Singh, Sahib Singh, Harjit Singh and Dharminder Singh.The Director General of Police (DGP) Gauarv Yadav said Azadvir, a resident of Amritsar and Amrik, resident of Gurdaspur, were the main perpetrators while Sahib, Harjit and Dharminder, residents of Amritsar, were the persons who sourced and supplied the explosives, the DGP said. He said Sahib Singh has a licensed agency for storing explosives.
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The police also recovered 1.10 kilogram low-intensity explosive, which is normally used in firecrackers. Yadav said the first explosive device was assembled in the bathroom of a ‘sarai’ (inn) on 6 May with 200 grams of explosive in two energy drink cans. A metallic tiffin was also filled with the same explosive material.
“All these three containers were placed in a polythene bag. Azadvir had gone to the rooftop of the heritage parking building and then he hung the polythene bag with the help of a rope at about 11 p.m. on 6 May. The first explosion took place at 11:25 p.m.,” said the DGP.
The second IED was assembled by using two metallic bowls which were then joined together and it was again done in the bathroom of the sarai on 7 May.
The arrests came hours after a third explosion took place on Wednesday midnight in Galiara, the pathway and park around the Golden Temple, behind Guru Ramdas Ji Niwas (inn) building, police said.
The DGP said a special investigation team will be formed to further investigate the matter. He said the motive behind the explosions is yet to be ascertained.
“We will unravel the entire controversy,” Yadav said, adding whether the arrested five persons were a self-radicalised module or worked at the direction of some other persons will also be investigated.
A low-intensity explosion had taken place on 6 May at the Heritage Street near the Golden Temple. The second blast occurred in the same area on 8 May.
Meanwhile, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee today said surveillance and the prompt action of the SGPC’s employees led to the arrest of the accused, including a woman, who were allegedly behind the mysterious explosions.
SGPC chief Harjinder Singh Dhami said the SGPC employees noticed the blast in the third blast and pinpointed the place from where the explosive material was thrown.
Dhami said the SGPC employees traced a suspect through CCTV footage installed in the Guru Ramdas Ji Niwas (inn) building and later they handed him over to police. The explosive material was thrown from the washroom located on the second floor of the building.
The SGPC chief accused the state government of being a total failure in preventing such incidents. “This is the failure of the Punjab government. We will strengthen our own task force now. We urge police to hold a thorough probe into the matter,” Dhami said.
